Tyres and Track Conditions

[ScottPuss20]

As a player of both Project Cars 2 and GT Sport, I've found several interesting differences; some more perplexing than others. We all know that GT Sport doesn't simulate track conditions, so the Soft tyre will always be the fastest and the hard always the slowest. This seems fair enough, as the same thing happens in Formula 1. But this isn't the case with all categories. Most have a soft tyre for colder conditions, whilst the hard is used for warmer conditions. In some way it makes things simpler, as you only have to worry about the track temperature. This is the case with Project Cars 2. In addition, the tyre wear is also different to GT Sport, as they don't degrade constantly. Instead, they stay at a consistent grip level until they've passed 90% wear, at which point you'll see a reduction in lap times. This allows me to get into a rhythm, as I know the car will do the same thing each lap. This is not the case in GT Sport. The tyres are always wearing so it's not as easy to know how much grip you'll have each lap. This makes life more complicated as you're constantly having to adjust the way you drive. It's harder to manage the tyre in GT Sport compared to Project Cars 2, which confuses me. I honestly feel more comfortable playing Project Cars 2 as it rewards my consistent driving. The tyre model in Gran Turismo needs to be revised completely for the next game in order to solve this problem. The tyres shouldn't act like the ones in Formula 1, as it's a unique case to create "drama" and put more emphasis on strategy.

 

[LeGeNd-1]

In GT6 track temps are simulated and affects top speed. It's very minor though - at SSRX between coldest and hottest temps you see maybe 3 km/h difference in top speed. I don't know if this is still simulated in GTS or whether it affects tyre life, even if it does I suspect it's still a very minor difference and other factors will play a bigger role in tyre life (e.g. driving style, multiplier itself).

I noticed also since the last update that changes tyre wear behaviour sometime last year, that the tyre wear indicator is very poor at indicating current grip. Previously when the indicator is <50% that's usually a good point to change tyres, regardless of compound. But now different compounds have different drop off points (Hards <80%, Meds <60%, Softs <40-50% roughly). So the only way to tell is by driving and noting the laptimes. The actual tyre life itself in terms of number of laps hasn't changed, but you just can't rely on the indicator anymore.

I haven't played PCARS so I can't comment on that, but yes GTS probably isn't the most realistic when it comes to simulating wear. It's definitely done that way to promote close racing, but given the whole aim of the game is esports I'm okay with that if that means we get to see Cody vs Miyazono finishes in each live event. It's a FIA sanctioned event so I won't be surprised if PD was given mandates mirroring Pirelli in F1 to make the tyres last a certain amount for a certain amount of laptime delta. If you wanna speak about peak realism, there's plenty of other games that does the job a lot better than GT anyway (not just tyres, but a whole host of other physics issues). And even if GT goes to more realistic wear, what is it gonna be based off given all their tyre compounds are generic brands???